Carta Revisado por pares

Prophylactic effect of Malarone against malaria: all good news?

2000; Elsevier BV; Volume: 356; Issue: 9245 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0140-6736(00)03250-5

ISSN

1474-547X

Autores

François Nosten,

Tópico(s)

Diverse Scientific Research Studies

Resumo

Malarone is a malarial prophylactic agent for use among travelers. It is a combination of atovaquone and proguanil which belongs to a family of anti-infective compounds the hydroxynaphthoquinones and has been known for over 50 years to be active against Plasmodium falciparum. Various clinical trials conducted to determine the effectiveness of Malarone indicated that the drug is well tolerated and is highly effective although its absorption is variable and greatly influenced by ingestion of fat. Despite these positive results many are concerned because of the potential misuse of the drug which could greatly increase the risk of resistance developing against it. Thus the finding that Malarone is safe and effective in protecting wealthy travelers is good news but not necessarily so for the millions living with and dying from malaria in the tropics.

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